Ari Adut

Ari Adut serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin's College of Liberal Arts and holds a CMES Affiliate appointment. He currently co-edits Sociological Science and teaches core theory courses including Sociological Theory (SOC 379M) and Contemporary Social Theory (SOC 394K).

His educational foundation includes a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and graduate degrees from both the University of Chicago and École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, where he later served as visiting professor.

Adut's research centers on sociological theory with emphases on scandal dynamics, public sphere phenomena, and political violence. His work explores how moral disturbances disrupt social order, analyzes the tension between visibility and privacy in political life, and investigates historical turning points like the French Revolution's Reign of Terror. He examines collective imaginaries through cultural artifacts and institutional practices across diverse societies.

His publication trajectory reveals consistent theoretical innovation—from scandal mechanisms in pre-digital eras to contemporary analyses of cosmopolitanism and public sphere transformations. Recent work connects historical patterns of denunciation to modern political dynamics while expanding into urban ethics and immigration sociology.

Major recognitions include:

• 2020 Theory Prize (American Sociological Association) for Reign of Appearances
• 2009 Mary Douglas Prize Honorable Mention for On Scandal
• Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton) membership

Research support includes Social Science Research Council and American Council of Learned Societies fellowships. His scholarship has reached broader audiences through features in The New York Times, Washington Post, and BBC. Current projects include a book reinterpreting the French Revolution's Reign of Terror through political violence frameworks.